Back Again
by Myshipshipsitself
Summary: When someone from Castiel's past returns, he doesn't know what it means. But the joy of having her return may not be enough to comfort himself, Dean or Sam when they find out why she was sent back.
1. Angelic Marks

Title: Back Again  
>Chapter: 1. Angelic Marks<br>Pairings/characters: Dean, Sam, Castiel/OC  
>Rating: G (May change later)<br>Warnings: None  
>Genre: RomanceAction/Supernatural (duh)  
>Summary: When someone from Castiel's past returns, he doesn't know what it means. But the joy of having her return may not be enough to comfort any of them when they find out why she was sent back.<p>

Disclaimer: I own nothing….Damn….

Author's Note: I haven't written a fan fiction in a while, so I might be a little rusty. Never written a Supernatural fic, so please point out any ooc-ness or anything wrong with the plot. Also, I've only seen through the first few episodes of season 6, so I don't know who brought Sam out of the cage, or if that's even been revealed. So, we'll safely say this takes place after the first few episodes of season 6. After Dean and Sam are reunited, and after they've ditched their "family." (I hated Samuel from the first episode anyway.)

"Find anything yet?" Dean's voice echoed through the dingy hotel room. Castiel didn't hear Bobby's response, but could assume it wasn't good when Dean sighed loudly, thanked the man with little to no gratitude in his voice, and hung up.

"Nothing?" Castiel asked, not bothering to look up at Dean. His eyes were focused on his hands, clutched together in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees while he sat on the bed.

"How hard can it be to find one lousy angel?" Dean asked angrily.

"Well, he apparently wasn't too lousy if he managed to pull me out of a cage in hell," Sam pointed out.

Now Castiel looked up to meet Sam's eyes. "I don't know why you two are so convinced it was an angel. All the angels in heaven are just as lost on the subject as we are."

"Who then?" Dean yelled, spinning around to glare at Castiel.

"I. Don't. Know." Castiel said slowly. He was talking to a five year old trapped a twenty-something year old's body, he was sure of it. "Yelling at me isn't going to give you your answer any—" Castiel stopped, one hand flying to the left side of his chest as a sharp pain shot through him. He cried out, falling forward onto the carpeted floor. Both hands scratched at the annoying fabric of his trench coat, and at his shirt.

"Cas? Cas!"

The blinding pain only increased, burning into his chest. He gasped for breaths that did nothing to lessen the pain.

"What's wrong with him?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? Cas! Can you hear me?"

Castiel opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was a cry of pain. He closed his mouth again, teeth grinding together.

"Is he having a heart attack?"

"What kind of stupid question is that, Sam? Angels don't have heart attacks!"

"But his vessel. Jimmy is human. Is that possible? Cas did go on that rampage of eating red meat because of him once."

"Alright, call 911."

"Make sure he's breathing. Take that tie off; it's probably not helping."

Castiel felt fingers frantically pulling at his neck, but grabbed at Dean's hands to stop him. He took several deep breaths, the pain finally subsiding.

"Cas?" Dean asked. "You okay? We're gonna get you to the hospital, alright?"

Castiel shook his head. He tried for a moment to make his voice work. "No, it's fine. I'm okay," he said, his voice coming out more rough than usual, as if it hadn't been used in several decades.

"You're not okay," Dean said firmly. He pulled one of Castiel's arms around his neck and pulled him to his feet, dropping him carefully back onto the bed.

"Really, I'm fine," Castiel said, laughing slightly, his hand still covering the place on his chest. He understood what the pain had been now. The only question was why. He sat up, shoving Dean's hands aside when the man tried to push him back onto the bed. He carefully unbuttoned a few buttons at the top of his shirt, and pulled it down to reveal a mark on the left side of his chest.

((Author's Note: This is the symbol I found to show what was burned onto his chest:

Also, the next part, Castiel's explanation of this symbol is completely off the top of my head, and has no basis in the Supernatural world at all. If I missed anything, or anything goes completely against the Supernatural world, please tell me and I will try and edit it to make it correct as much as I can without disrupting the flow of the story.))

"Cas," Sam said slowly, dropping his phone onto the bed. "What is that?"

Castiel didn't respond immediately, eyes set intently on the mark. His fingers traced over the lines of it, as though moving of their own accord. This. This made no sense.

"Cas, what is it?" Dean asked.

"It's a symbol of unity," Castiel said.

"Okay, so why is it burned into your flesh?" Dean asked.

Castiel turned to look at Dean. "I-I don't know."

"Well, is there any, I don't know. Any reason you would have it?" Sam asked.

"I had it once," Castiel said. He took a breath and covered the mark back up, running a hand over his face, then started on his explanation. "Angels have marks like these when they're destined to be soul mates. To be married."

"So, it's like an engagement ring?" Dean asked. He shot Sam a confused look, and Castiel sighed.

"It means much more than those rings your human women wear," Castiel said. "Not all angels have soul mates, but those that do are branded with these when they're born. Or, if their soul mate hasn't been born yet, they will be branded with one when their soul mate is born."

"So now you suddenly get branded with one?" Dean asked. "Yeesh, talk about robbing the cradle." Dean snapped his mouth shut at the look Castiel gave him.

"An angel can only have one soul mate," Castiel said angrily. "And as I said before, I've had this mark before. I was born with it."

"So how do you lose your soul ma—" Sam's voice broke off, and by the look on his face, Castiel knew he wished he hadn't spoken.

"She was killed," Castiel answered the unfinished question.

"Who?" Dean asked quietly.

"It was Michael."

"The Archangel Michael?" Sam asked. "Why would he kill her?"

"This civil war that's raging now in Heaven," Castiel said. "It's not the first one."

"But that doesn't explain why you have the mark now," Dean said.

"Wait, how long ago was it?" Sam asked.

"Why does that matter now?" Dean asked, glaring at his brother.

"If we know how and why she was killed, we might be able to figure out why he has the mark again now," Sam defended.

"That night," Castiel started. Both the brothers turned to look at Castiel, though the angel was staring at the wall, his eyes far away from the small room. "Those flames that killed your mother; they weren't the only ones that night. So many angels wanted to stop the demon from getting to you, Sam."

"But why?" Sam asked. "I thought the angels wanted the Apocalypse."

"They did," Castiel said. "They wanted it to be over with as soon as possible. You were Lucifer's true vessel, because he got to you as a child. It was written in Heaven in the beginning of time. God knew it would play out this way. That it would be two Winchester brothers in the end, fighting His battle. Some of the angels wanted to stop it. If the demon didn't get to you, Lucifer would have found a different vessel. A weaker vessel. Heaven took sides, and that night, a war like no other in Heaven began. Eloa was of the opinion that stopping the demon, and forcing Lucifer to take a weaker vessel would be for the best."

"What did you think?" Dean asked.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked.

"Which side of the fight were you on?"

"I disagreed with her," Castiel said.

"You wanted the demon to kill our mother? You wanted Sam to be Lucifer's puppet?"

"That's not fair."

"It is completely fair!"

"I knew you two as nothing more than the chosen Winchester boys at that point," Castiel said. He stood up and walked to window, looking out. After a moment, eh turned back to Dean and Sam. "I wondered for a moment, if I'd known then what I know now, if I would have made the same choice."

"And?" Dean asked.

"And I would have," Castiel held up a hand to stop Dean before he spoke again. "It would have kept your mother alive, and would have saved you both a lot of trouble, yes. But would you rather Lucifer had had a weaker vessel? A weaker vessel that would've said yes to Lucifer from the moment he asked? A vessel that wouldn't have even attempted to fight Lucifer, much less actually win? Believe me, a year ago, if anyone was regretting his stand during that war it was I. But the Winchesters were a chosen line, and that day, when all of it came to a head, you two proved why, and proved wrong every doubt I ever had in you. So don't try and tell me I was wrong, because I would make the decision a hundred times over."

Dean and Sam were silent for several minutes. Dean finally broke the silence. "Cas, I'm sorr—"

"Don't," Castiel said firmly. "Just, the next time you go feeling sorry for yourself and wishing your life had been different, think about what that would've meant for the rest of the world."

"So, uh, how do we find out about that symbol?" Sam asked. Neither Castiel nor Dean argued the change of subject. Sam went to the library to get any books on angel lore he could find. Dean searched the internet for the same. And Castiel ran over the battle in his mind, wondering if he missed something. Some loophole that would allow Eloa to still be alive.

Author's Note: Ok, so as I was researching for angel names, I found where it specifically says in the Bible that angels do not marry. Oops? Oh well. I just thought it would be an interesting idea. So, we'll ignore that silly bit of information and press onwards. Anyway, this was the explanation of Eloa's name that I found, and thought it was fascinating, so that's why I chose the name:

**Eloa** - The angel of sorrow and compassion. She is said to have been born from a tear Jesus shed. In Alfred de Vigny's poem _Eloa_, we find Jesus at Lazarus grave. He is deeply moved by the grief of Martha and Mary after losing their brother. So he sheds one heavenly tear, and Eloa is born.

Please remember to leave comments! I love them, and it will let me know whether I should continue this or just forget about it!


	2. One More Legend

"See? Much better. All you need is a little distraction," Dean attempted in vain to cheer Cas up. It had been over a week since the engagement ring- or rather, angelic symbol of matrimony or whatever, had been burned into Cas's chest, and they still had no clue why. Cas insisted that Eloa must have been resurrected, but she hadn't shown up yet, and he didn't know where to start looking.

"Nothing is any better, except those two girls we saved from being vampire snacks," Castiel said. "It doesn't serve as much of a distraction watching you chop off a couple heads, either."

"I gotta say, he's right," Sam chimed in. he shrugged at the glare Dean sent him. "These hunts are becoming too easy."

"Yeah, well I guess anything is easy after you face off against the devil himself," Dean muttered. They returned to the hotel room in silence. Dean picked up his phone to order a pizza. He walked outside where Sam and Cas were packing things into the Impala, opening his mouth to ask Sam what kind of pizza he wanted. "Sonofabitch," the word escaped his mouth instead and he stumbled back several paces. "Who the hell are you?"

The girl had her back to him, and gave him barely a glance over her shoulder, then turned back to Cas and Sam. "You three are difficult to track down," she said in a smooth voice. Sam looked just as confused as Dean, but Cas seemed to recognize her. "Castiel," the girl said his name, and dean understood exactly who she was.

"Eloa," Cas breathed.

"How are you alive?" Cas asked once they were all inside the hotel room. Cas and Eloa were seated on one of the beds, Sam and Dean on the other facing them.

"God," she said simply. "I'd think you would know the answer to that. Now I have a question." She turned to look curiously at Sam and Dean. "How was I not about to find you two? Joshua told me I'd find Castiel with the Winchester boys, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Cas worked some kind of angel mojo on us," Dean said.

"He put some kind of angelic symbols on our ribs. No angels can find us," Sam translated.

Eloa smiled fondly at them both, then turned back to Castiel. "What happened after Michael killed me?" She asked, as though it were an everyday question. "Joshua showed me what's happened on earth; Armageddon and the battle." She winced slightly. "He-he showed me what happened, and he showed me what would have happened."

"What would have happened?" Cas asked.

Eloa nodded. "Had Gabriel and I won the battle that day in Heaven…I'm sorry, Castiel. I shouldn't have doubted—"

"Nothing to forgive," Cas said softly. He pressed a soft kiss against her temple. Dean almost wanted to roll his eyes and make some kind of joke, but something stopped him. Cas looked… Happy. Cas didn't smile much, and when he did, it never quite reached his eyes. Not the way it did when he looked at Eloa.

So Dean just cleared his throat, and Eloa looked back at him. "So, Gabriel was on your side?"

"Of course," Eloa said. "He always hated his brothers fighting. And Armageddon was just a whole new level of sibling rivalry, and if he could stop it, or at least lessen the blow, he wanted to." She turned back to Cas with an expectant look.

"After you," Cas paused a moment, looking down. "Gabriel and I attacked Michael. Would've killed him if—"

"Or he would've killed you two," Dean pointed out, receiving a sharp elbow to the ribs from his brother. He glared at Sam, and then looked back at Cas to see the same look shot back at him.

"Michael would have died," he stated clearly. Dean didn't argue this time. "He would have, if Joshua hadn't stepped in. Of course, Michael knew his part in the big picture. Gabriel and I didn't know ours, but Joshua assured us that killing each other would do no good. We each had a part to play. Gabriel left after that. Refused to stay in Michael's presence. He wanted me to come with him, but I couldn't."

"Ever the good soldier," Eloa said with a small laugh.

Cas smiled slightly, eyes darting up to meet Dean's. "Was before I met these two. Anyways, so that's when Gabriel left Heaven, came to earth and hid from his brothers and all of Heaven."

"As the trickster," Sam filled in the blanks.

"But, what I don't get," Dean said. "Is Gabriel's big part to play. He didn't do much in the grand scheme of things, did he? I mean, I get Michael obviously had his big brother battle. And you came to us, but—"

"You," Cas cut him off.

"What?" Dean asked.

"I came to your aid, Dean," Cas said. He turned his gaze towards Sam. "What I am to Dean, Gabriel was intended to be to you, Sam."

"Alright, that's complete crap!" Dean yelled.

"Maybe not," Sam said slowly. His eyes were cast down, and Dean could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"You're not really considering that Gabriel, the trickster that tried to kill us, was supposed to help you, are you?"

"It makes sense," Sam said defensively.

"How?" Dean asked.

"Remember that day that I told you kept repeating over and over again?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, we were at that mystery spot or whatever, right?" Dean asked. "And he kept killing me. Over and over and over again. How did that help anyone?"

"No, it's what he told me," Sam said. "He said that you and I are each other's weakness, and that the demons knew it."

"His methods are," Cas paused for a moment. "More brash than mine, to say the least. But he wasn't wrong. In his own twisted way, he was trying to help you, Sam. You two are each other's greatest strength and greatest weakness."

"It's hard to argue his intentions in the end," Sam said. "He died on our side."

Dean shook his head this was ridiculous. "Whatever. It doesn't matter now anyway. He's dead, and we're not."

Cas turned back to Eloa. "Did Joshua show you the battle? The seals? Everything?"

Eloa nodded. "Everything." She turned back to the brothers, and Dean saw that same fond look in her eyes that made him feel uncomfortable and relaxed at the same time. "You boys are something special, you know."

"Yeah, regulars saints and demons rolled into one," Dean said.

"I mean it," Eloa said. "Just what Castiel gave up for you two. To protect you, and help you. But more than that, you two are the stuff of legends. Stories will be written of you two for centuries to come." She smiled and looked sideways at Cas. "Of the three of you." She hesitated for a moment, and bit her lip.

"What is it?" Dean asked. She didn't answer, but Cas seemed to understand completely.

"There's a reason God brought you back," he stated solemnly. "Do you know why?"

Eloa nodded, and smiled sadly. She looked at Cas, then back at the two brothers. "Stories, and legends will be told of you three for eternity. Stories already written by prophets, being written as we speak. But there's one last story that hasn't been written yet."


End file.
